Monthly Archives: January 2006

Okay, so we’re totally lame. Yesterday for church I curled my hair in curlers (in case you were worried, this is Aubrey – not Jon!) Anyway, Robbie just thought I looked funny, but Emily wanted to try it too. So we curled her hair in curlers too. We even put toilet paper behind her ears so the curlers wouldn’t burn her ears – just like Mom used to do for us. Anyway, here’s a cute picture of Emily and her curlers! We love you!

So, I know most of you were here, so this is really for Jeff and Debbi. We wish you guys were here. The family just doesn’t feel totally complete without you guys, or the kids. Okay, it’s really the kids we miss. Nah, just teasing. Anyway, we had a few pictures, so I thought I would post them. There really is not much to say. It was a typical Gee party. We had food (cause I have Mom’s genes and MUST have food at all gatherings!). We opened presents, and Adam loved them all, although I must admit he is sleeping with his baggie of bouncy balls from Uncle CJ and Aunt Randi. We had cake and ice cream just like always. Brad fell asleep on the floor until I sent Emily to jump on him. Pretty typical. I do have to say this though. I am so grateful for all of you being willing to come and support us. I’m sure it wasn’t tops on some of your lists of things you enjoy doing (humph – Dad!). Thank you all for loving my kids and always being there for them. I love you all for that! Anyway, without further ado, the PICTURES! [photopress:100_4258.JPG,thumb,centered] Adam had a few helpers opening his presents!

[photopress:100_4259.JPG,thumb,centered] This was our gift to him. He’s been wanting to ride with the big kids for a while now!

[photopress:100_4263_1.JPG,thumb,centered] Singing and blowing out the candles!

Okay, so that’s it. We love you all! Peace out! Live long and prosper! Excellent! Totally bogus! BYE!

It’s Tuesday night. The kids have had a busy day. Robbie had preschool and Emily was dragged to roughly 50 stores with her mom. There were no naps to be had. Dad was at school and Mom was tired, but sane (barely!) The bedtime countdown is on. Only one hour to go. Will she make it? It is uncertain whether that awe inspiring goal will be met without screaming and tears and tantrums. And the kids might not make it either. Suddenly, the doorbell rings, and it is SUPER AUNT AND UNCLE TO THE RESCUE! The crazy duo have decided that they want to “play” with their niece and nephews. To the amazement and awe of Mom, these two have the energy she did not. (Although the uncle seems to have a lot more than the aunt – but that’s probably because the aunt thinks she’s as big as a house and houses can’t run around and play.) Mom watches in wonder as Robbie plays Star Wars with his uncle.

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The uncle even sacrifices his health as he skids around a corner and scrapes up his leg. (Either that or Robbie is getting much better with his lightsaber!)

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The aunt is no less effective as she sits on the floor and plays with the other two crazy children.

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Play time ends, and the magical hour has arrived. FREEDOM! The mom expects her helpers to disappear as quickly as they appeared, but no, that would not happen! The helpers cheerfully help dress the kids and watch a short movie. This is especially wonderful because it is a Barbie movie and the uncle is not that excited to watch it. Finally teeth are brushed and prayers are said and kids are ready for bed. Suddenly, the aunt and uncle leave as quickly as they came.

The kids are sleeping, worn out from their long day. All that remains is a mom, still sane thanks to her helpers and extremely grateful for family who love her kids and take the time to play with them and be around them.

Okay, first of all – Jeff, did you change something? I was downloading pictures and all of a sudden it just looks different, as does this screen. I’m pretty sure I didn’t do it. Oh well, it looks spiffy!

So, I thought I would put up a few pictures from the parade that we went to on Saturday. Uncle CJ and Aunt Randi wanted to take the kids to the Stock Show Parade in downtown Fort Worth. And by Stock Show Parade I mean hundreds of horses. That was pretty much it. Horses, a few longhorns (we ARE in Texas!) and some zedonks. If you don’t know what a zedonk is, then all I can say is that you are missing out and you need to move to Texas immediately! Anyway, we went to the parade and it was a lot of fun. For about 10 minutes. Then all the horses started to look the same. And THEN it started to smell really bad. Hundreds of horses+parade=REALLY BAD SMELL! Robbie actually wouldn’t watch the parade anymore. He just buried his head in my back and complained about how bad it smelled. I think the best part was watching the marching bands to see what they would do as they walked down the street filled with smelly piles of horse poop. Some of them just walked right on through. Icky! Anyway, here’s a few pictures, cause they’re cute.

We had snacks while we were waiting for the parade to begin. I think that was Robbie’s favorite part!

We were in the back row and so all the kids had to sit on our shoulders in order to see. I really think CJ got the bum deal here. Robbie weighs a million pounds! (Okay, not really, but it feels like it!)

Anyway, that’s all. I guess I had to post parade pictures because it reminded me of Grandma Van and all the parades we went to as kids. Have a groovy day! Love you all!

I’ll let you know when it’s me. It’s probably not hard to tell since I haven’t written very much and I’m not quite as good at writing as Aubrey is. Oh well…that’s OK.

I had an awesome experience at Church on Sunday. I’m up on the stand for fast and testimony meeting. I’m closest to the stand, so I get the stepstool for all of the kids in the ward. Unfortunately, not that many kids bear their testimony in our ward. One boy, Asa, 6, pretty much always bears his testimony. Well, according to Aunt Randi, when he stood up to bear his, all three of our kids were just glued to him. When he was done, Emily said that she wanted to bear hers. So, she came up and sat in my lap until it was her turn. She had only done this once before about 8 months ago. When Robbie saw her up in my lap, he decided that he wanted to also. He has never done this. So, when Emily was done, Robbie came up and hung out with me until it was his turn. I helped both of them even though one of the Apostles said that kids shouldn’t do this until they can do it unaided. Oh well…

Two things that were just awesome to me from this…1) I miss being with my wife and kids during Church. All I get to do is look at them, smile, and wink. That’s our communication. It was great to be with Robbie and Emily, even if it was short. 2) Things like this just let me confirm to me that Aubrey and I are doing what’s right for our kids. There just might be some hope for them! From day to day, you just hope that you’re doing the right thing. Luckily, we have the prophets who have counseled us to have family prayer, scripture study, family home evening, etc. It’s amazing that those simple little things have such an impact on children. Totally amazing!!! And even though I needed to help the kids with their testimonies, they already have the beginnings of their own testimonies. They know that they feel good when we do all of the family stuff. They know it feels good and that’s why they want to do the right things, relatively speaking for little kids.

Anyways, I have a totally awesome family and am eternally grateful for my wife and kids!!!

Okay, so I have this pet peeve. It’s those stupid signs that the state of Texas put up all over the highways. Ya know, the ones that normally say “Buckle up for safety” or “Drinking + Driving = Jail”. They never really say ANYTHING useful. I finally decided to tolerate them only because they use them to announce Amber alerts, and I figure that I can curb my annoyance for the sake of missing children. The last month or so the signs have been changed to say “Fire Alert for the State of Texas” and then it flashes to “Burn ban in effect”. So, today I’m driving to Mom’s house, and they’ve changed the signs. NOW, they say “Arson/burn ban in effect”. Tell me this. Isn’t there always an arson ban? I mean, isn’t arson illegal? I guess once the ban is over, I can burn down things. WOO HOO! Seriously, though. Did they think the first sign wasn’t clear enough? I just don’t get it. Apparently all the arsonists thought it was still okay to light fires. That will show them! Anyway, just a thought I was having. (Pretty soon Jeff is going to regret setting this thing up as I write down all my random thoughts!) Love you all!

So, last night I did one of the hardest things I have ever done. I said no to one of my children, and I didn’t back down. Emily (like there was any doubt who it was) was being a little goober head. It culminated in her tearing apart an art project that Robbie had made at preschool in a fit of 4 year old rage. We were about to leave to take cookies to the missionaries, and instead Emily got to stay home with Mom. She cried for about 15 minutes, begging to go even long after the boys were gone. At one point she was just sobbing “Please Mommy, please” like her little heart was breaking. And that kind of broke my heart too. See, as much as I wanted to give in and put her in Jon’s car without the carseat and drive off to find the boys, I knew I couldn’t. She needed to learn her lesson. Why is it so hard to be a parent? I finally got her calmed down, and we made Robbie a picture to help make up for the one Emily ruined and she was okay by the time the boys got back. I know we did the right thing, and hopefully Emily learned something, but phew, it was emotionally exhausting. I guess that’s the hard part about being a parent. It’s made up for with all the hugs and kisses and wonderful things that my kids do to brighten my day and make me glad that they are part of my family. Thank heavens for that part!

Okay, so I thought this was funny. I thought maybe Randi or Jennie or Brad would appreciate it. Love you guys!

I urgently needed a few days off work, but I knew the Boss would not allow me to take a leave. I thought that maybe if I acted “CRAZY” then he would tell me to take a few days off. So I hung upside down on the ceiling and made funny noises. My co-worker (who’s blonde) asked me what I was doing? I told her that I was pretending to be a light bulb so that the Boss would think I was “CRAZY” and give me a few days off.

A few minutes later the Boss came into the office and asked”What are you doing?” I told him I was a light bulb. He said “You are clearly stressed out. Go home and recuperate for a couple of days”. I jumped down and walked out of the office. When my co-worker (the blonde) followed me, the Boss asked her” ..And where do you think you’re going?”

Hey all! Jon was trying to post pictures last night, and this thing is stupid. (No, it was the user! I am going to blame it on the computer!) Anyway, Brad showed me how to post them, so I thought I would put a few of the pictures up that Jon wanted to. So, here they are!

This is the kids playing in Grandma’s leaves on Christmas Eve. Apparently we should have stuffed their stockings with leaves!

I think Jon just took this picture to put on the website. The kids love bubbles!

Come on, aren’t they totally cute. They are such hams. Oh, that is the smile from Adam – the “Don’t you smile” smile!

Okay, that’s it. I know you are all shocked that we wrote THREE TIMES in less than 24 hours. Don’t get used to it though! We love you!